All professional members must answer a set of five (5) standard interview questions on video. Members have the option to answer additional questions of their own choosing to offer additional information to consumers about themselves and their practice. A set of additional questions is provided as suggestions only, since Members may prefer to construct their own.
Standard Questions to be asked of all professional members
1. Do you specialize in treating some particular problems? And if so, how did they come to be your specialty.?
2. What philosophy or therapeutic style guides you in your work with clients? Please explain ?
3. How would you characterize yourself as a therapist? (define what you do)
4. From your perspective, how would you suggest a person go about finding the right therapist?
5. What do you believe are the most important character traits for a psychotherapist to have to be effective in their work?
Optional Questions
Suggestions for additional question for the video. Or, feel free to create questions that you want to answer.
The selection process
1. How can you tell if any particular new client is a good or bad fit for treatment with you?
2. Who is your ideal client?
3. Do you believe it is valuable for a person seeking psychotherapy to see a therapist who has his or her own personal experience with similar issues to the ones prompting the consultation?
4. Do you believe therapy is more likely to succeed if the therapist and the client share certain personal traits, such as ethnic background, religion, sexual orientation, political philosophy, etc?
5. How do you ensure a good fit with your prospective clients?
Your approach to treatment: what is it like to be in treatment with you?
7. How do you conduct an initial evaluation?
8. What is your treatment approach? What methods do you employ?
9. What do you expect from a client? (during session, between sessions, etc)
10. How do you assess how often a person should be seen in therapy
11. How do you know when a client no longer needs to be in therapy?
12. What is your average length of treatment?
Questions about you
13. How would you characterize yourself as a therapist? How would others describe you?
14. What special or unique skills do you possess as a psychotherapist?
15. How led you to decide to become a mental health professional? (including your choice of discipline)
16. What lifestyle practices do you feel are important to one’s overall psychological well being and help support the therapeutic experience?
17. How would clients who either work well with you describe you? How about those don’t work well with you describe you?
18. How would your friends describe you?
19. Do you ever get tired working all day with people’s emotional problems?
20. What do you do for fun ?
Unique stories
21.Briefly describe a successful case and how you believe you helped that person or how that person was helped by being in treatment.
22. What do you enjoy most about doing psychotherapy?
23. Who influenced you most in your development as a professional?
24. Explain a particular therapeutic strategy, technique or process.
Professional skills, expertise, and services
25. Can you describe how you might typically approach (specific problem area) ?
26. Do you have any advanced training above and beyond your academic education? Why did you undertake that?
27. What do you do to stay current and up to date on the current research?
28. What differentiates you from every other therapist who could help with a basic problem?
29. Do you teach or train other therapists? (formal, supervision, seminars) and why?
30. Is there somewhere where others can learn about what you do (publications, presentations, etc.)
31. Are there unique aspects/features of your practice that you are most proud of?
32. How do you/did you decide to contract with insurances, or not?
33. What do you not do well? What kind of clients do you decline? Can you talk about a treatment that didn't go well?
34. Can you talk about some examples when you could have used your own advice or therapy? Elaborate.